Excalibur. . .What's the Attractions?

13 years ago

OK - I'll admit it - start throwing the flaming darts - I am so NOT impressed with my Excalibur Dehydrator.

1) The thing is huge. Does not fit on my kitchen counter.

2) That front piece/door thingy. Totally flimsy piece of crap. Why can't you just lift it up and check on things - no you have to remove it. And then find a place to put it - since it won't sit neatly on top.

3) The fan. Yeah - I get that the fan helps with heat distribution. But when I've attempted to dry my herbs, they all get blown to the front of the dehydrator sheet in a pile, which leads to uneven drying. Plus I end up with piles of herbs on the floor of the dehydrator. Forget trying to dry anything else when you have herbs going. I wouldn't mind having the tomatoes dry in an basil scent. But I don't want dried pieces of basil stuck all over my tomatoes.

4) After drying tomatoes for 3 days - as in 72 hours - they still weren't dry enough to make the tomato powder that people have been talking about on this forum.

Granted I haven't tried to use this thing a lot - since you can see I'm not impressed. But so far, my Ronco AsSeenOnTV dehydrator has been just as efficient. As far as I'm concerned, this thing has been a waste of money.

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Comments (3)

digdirt2
13 years ago
I share most of your disappointment in them. Granted it has been some time since I tried one so I'm sure there have been improvements but my DIL model is a poor performer compared to my Nesco American Harvest, and for a 1/4 of the price.

But herbs will blow around some with any model. Trying drying them still attached to bigger pieces of stems - in branches - and then strip leaves off the stems when dry.

Perhaps it is a durability issue although my previous AH that I paid $25.00 for lasted for over 20 years. JMO but I think much of it is "the name" just as with the All American canners vs. Presto (and yes I have both and still prefer the Presto).

Still, to each his own, and I know many swear by the Excalibur name.

Dave
Linda_Lou
13 years ago
I keep promoting the Nesco brand dehydrators for the reasons and a few more that you mention. My herbs do not blow around. You can set the thermostat low enough for herbs and high enough for jerky or tomatoes. Plus, you can add trays up to 12 high. I feel it is the best one out there, especially for the money.
You can get a nice 700 watt one for about $45 on Amazon normally with free shipping.
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Had to laugh at the " seedy" store.. It's all to true, but now the owners know me and his pit bull seems to be very friendly!! Lol... K.. I would think we will see more items available in the Garden Centers .. I have seen more products around my area and they do sell Dyna Gro Products, so I am sure they can order it for me if I ask.. Sure would be nice to have a store that I could frequent and feel like I am not being watched by my local undercover police.. Lololol!! Roxanne.. I still go to the "little strip mall" to get my supplies.. It's like being on an adventure!! My Hydroponic store sells everything that I like ( well kind of..) they have 3,5,10 gallon containers as well as mixes, fertilizers, B-1 and Dr Doom that I like to spray on my trees to get rid of any spider mites.. They have small bottles of the Foliage Pro as well as the one gallon. The one gallon last me two seasons since you only use 1-2 tsp per gallon of water. Let me know and I'll send you the small size so you can see if you like it!! Sending hugs back your way!!! Laura
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val_s
13 years ago
This is the one I got on Linda's recommendation:

Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator

So far I love it. I did wonder about the Excalibur and I did think at first about getting one, but my kitchen is small and I didn't think it would fit on my counters very well.

I think I made the right choice. With mine, I also ordered an extra fruit roll-up package (it comes 2 in a package) and I also ordered a clean-a-screen package (same as above) and two more trays, taking mine up to 7 trays total. My totally for all 4 items was around 89.66. Still less than the Excalibur.

This model can stack to 30 trays, of course that would never fit anywhere in my kitchen but I think I can go a couple of more :-)

All in all - I've found it to be totally reliable. I haven't tried tomatoes yet. Mine are done and I'm not buying those tasteless things in the store....well....maybe I will just to see if it will dry tomatoes dry enough for powder 'cause I really want to try that.

Val

Excalibur. . .What's the Attractions?

Comments (3)

digdirt2

Linda_Lou

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val_s

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